Chapter Twenty: Name and Fate

  Bai Ze slightly lowered his head and said, "This curse was prevalent in the Xia and Shang dynasties, it's a life-and-death curse. In other words, if you were to cast a verbal curse on him, his fate for this entire lifetime would be decided by your one word."

  "This is great!" Qian Yiqun was overjoyed.

  In the Xia Dynasty, people's hearts were simple and honest. Many people hoped that their friends could use a spell to bless them, so that they would have something to rely on in their future life journey, unlike Qian Yiqun who used it to enslave others.

  Actually, this incantation is a borrowed needle incantation, which takes the person's natal star position instead of the acupoint. Just calculating the star chart would be a waste of effort. Fortunately, Bai Ze was quite familiar with this aspect and was able to prepare everything in no time. As for the hand technique of manipulating the needle, there were many subtleties involved, which couldn't be explained even by Qian Yiqun's inner universe in a short while. He only listened to a rough outline and followed Bai Ze's requirements to do it.

  The incantation of the ancient curse requires an ancient pronunciation to trigger the mechanism, which has been lost for thousands of years. Ba Ze didn't discuss it with Qian Yi Qun and directly let him utter a series of eerie sounds. When Qian Yi Qun finished the last sound, a wave of blue light burst out from Wei Lao Gou's body, rippled around, and disappeared into his skin.

  "Give him a new name." said the fox to Qian Yiqun.

  "Qian Wei!" Qian Yiqun blurted out.

  The old dog only felt like it had been hit on the head with a heavy hammer, dizzy and disoriented, then suddenly refreshed as if it had taken a cool shower on a hot summer day, from the top of its head to its paws.

  Qian Yiqun saw Wei Lao Gou - now Qian Wei, his whole body was shaking and he thought it was the aftereffect of a curse. Unexpectedly, this old good-for-nothing who had been hunched over with his head down and full of evil energy all over his face, suddenly straightened up, lifted his head, stiffened his joints, although his body was covered in filth, but he had quite a bit of style.

  Normal temperament.

  With the same old appearance, white hair, but somehow it feels like a different person. Qian Yiqun exclaimed in surprise, thinking to himself: It seems that temperament is indeed not superficial! Alas, it looks like I need to pay attention to my own temperament while cultivating my skills, if I become too weird and annoying, it would be a loss.

  "Qian Wei," the fox called out solemnly, "the surname is nature, the name is fate! Today your master gave you life, and repaying him with this lifetime is a matter of course."

  Qian Wei had never felt this way before, he only felt that his breathing was smooth, and his heart was clear. He knelt down in front of Qian Yi Qun: "Qian Wei is willing to be a cow or a horse for the master for this life!"

  Qian Yiqun glanced at Qian Wei, hinting him to get up, and turned to the fox saying: "Fox brother, was what you just said meant for me to hear?"

  The fox looked at Qian Yiqun with a puzzled expression: "Don't you even know what a surname is?"

  Qian Yiqun slightly shook his head: "We're not scholars..."

  Xìng zhě, xìng yě;

  Destiny is fate.

  Huangdi had twenty-five sons, but only twelve of them got surnames. This shows that having a surname is precious and not something you can get just because your parents have one. You must obtain "xing" yourself before you can have a "surname". Once you reach the state of seeing xing and getting a surname, in the eyes of ordinary people, you are already a divine being, opening up the floodgates for surnames for future generations.

  As for the origin of names, it directly comes from a spell, which was called "Zhù" at that time. The elder with strong spiritual power in the clan would determine the destiny of the child's future with one sentence, but later the spell was lost, and the custom of naming became the clan's relatives and friends saying some auspicious words to the newborn.

  Qian Yiqun was naturally talented, and his words were inspired. He coincidentally met with the power of a curse that still lingered, so he directly gave Qian Wei his surname and name, just like planting a seed in a barren wilderness.

  This kind of thing is not rare, everyone has it when they are born. It's just that in the process of growing up, it gets worn away by wine, lust, wealth and anger, and very few people can actually make it sprout. Qian Wei was a complete mess in his early years, with all five poisons present, and the seed of life had long since lost its vitality, living like a walking corpse. Now that Qian Yi has given him another chance, it's not an exaggeration to say that he's been reborn.

  The fox finished explaining, and Qian Yiqun suddenly realized. Qian Wei listened with even more reverence in his heart, the wrinkles on his face relaxed, at least no longer worried about life and death.

  "That book said my talent is linguistic, and indeed my words are effective." Qian Yiqun smiled.

  "It's not ordinary to be able to see other people's talents." The fox said seriously, "If she comes again, you should ask clearly about the cause and effect, since things are abnormal, it's a demon, and the living beings sealed in the treasure have some strange things."

  Qian Yiqun nodded while thinking to himself: Is there anything more abnormal in this world than a fox speaking human language?

  The fox gazed at Qian Yiqun and thought for a moment before saying, "Do you know why the Spirit of Speech is extremely rare among people?"

  "Why?"

  "This innate ability is passed down through bloodlines, and it's not easy to break. The fox licked its lips, "It's just that the speaker themselves are not careful, one word can bring prosperity to a country, one word can destroy a country, and ultimately bring about deadly disaster. You go take a look, all the innate abilities passed down through bloodlines have extensive and detailed records, but the art of speaking is the only one that doesn't."

  "Hmm, I see. From now on, it's better for me to speak less." Qian Yiqun's heart skipped a beat, "But what was that curse-like phrase just now?"

  The fox looked at Qian Wei, then looked at Qian Yiqun, and buried its mouth in the fox's nose, not saying a word. Qian Yiqun saw this and couldn't ask more questions, but soon heard the sound of people outside, among whom was his father's loud voice, as if something big had happened.

  "Brother!" Xiao Qian's voice came from outside, followed by the sound of footsteps slapping against the bluestone floor as they approached.

  Qian Yi Qun hastily hid Qian Wei from view, sat up straight on the edge of the bed, his eyelids slightly closed, with a calm and composed demeanor.

  "What's going on?" Qian Yiqun vaguely saw a figure flashing outside the window and asked aloud.

  Qian Xiaoxiao pushed open the door with a whoosh, her face filled with a mixture of joy and worry. She said: "Brother, Father is back!"

  Qian Yiqun knew that he hadn't caused too much trouble and let out a sigh of relief, his expression calm as he said, "What's there to make such a fuss about?"

  "County Magistrate said that your father and you have made great contributions to the county by eliminating the evil and cruel, and your father has been promoted to be the County Historian!" Qian Xiaoxiao stepped forward, pulled up Qian Yiqun, and laughed loudly.

  "Really!" Qian Yiqun also couldn't hold back. From the captain to the historian, although they were still the same officials, the captain was the first-class, while the historian was the head of the officials. They no longer received labor and food silver, but instead received a regular salary! Not only did their title rise by more than one level, but their actual benefits also increased by threefold.

  Qian Xiaoxiao's face flushed with excitement: "Moreover, County Zun also said that Brother has made great contributions to the village and can fill Father's position. Once he recovers from his injuries, he will be able to take office. Now it's Uncle who is in charge of the capture, once you are registered at the Ministry of Justice, it will naturally belong to you."

  Qian Yiqun looked up at the sky and burst out laughing: "I'm really sorry, I wasn't paying attention and became a civil servant!"

  "Haven't you been sent on a business trip yet?" Qian Xiaoxiao looked at her brother in confusion.

  "It's nothing," Qian Yiqun waved his hand, "Go and tell Father that the elder brother has finished resting and taking the Xianjia pill, and is now more than half recovered. Let's see when it's convenient to go to the yamen to report."

  Qian Xiaoxiao gave Qian Yiqun a glance: "You're also being too unreserved, aren't you?"

  "What's with the hesitation?" Qian Yiqun was so angry he wished to rush out immediately, "Do you think this is an emperor's abdication? You're still hesitating and making excuses? With your hesitation, tomorrow it's not certain whose pot of meat you'll be in! Hurry up and go!"

  Qian Xiaoxiao thought it made sense and quickly ran out.